Tuesday, December 23, 2014

A former airline boss and writer claims the U.S. downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 because the military feared it had been taken over by hackers and was about to be used in a 9/11-style attack.

Marc Dugain, the former chief executive of now-defunct Proteus Airlines, said the jumbo jet was shot down near a U.S. military base on the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean after it was hacked.

He told Paris Match that islanders in the Maldives near Diego Garcia told him they saw the missing aircraft flying low.

The studio will release the controversial film in select theaters across the U.S.

It seems that Sony Pictures will release controversial comedy The Interview after all.

A week ago, the studio canceled the film’s planned release after Sony’s systems were hacked and threats were made against national movie theater chains. But two independent theater owners said on Tuesday that Sony has informed them that they now will be able to screen The Interview on Christmas Day.

Sony later confirmed its plan to offer “a limited theatrical release” for the film in select U.S. theaters on Christmas.

Lynton went on to thank Sony employees and those involved in the making of The Interview — a comedy that stars actors Seth Rogen and James Franco, and which features an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The North Korean leader previously called the film “an act of war” and, last week, the FBI officially accused North Korea’s government of perpetrating last month’s debilitating hack into the Sony Pictures computer system. North Korea has denied any involvement in the cyber attack.

Sony called off plans to release The Interview on Christmas last week after the five largest national movie theater chains all balked at showing the movie on account of threats made by the hacker group Guardians of Peace, or GOP. President Obama expressed his regret that Sony made its decision to cancel the film’s release, calling the decision “a mistake.”

The White House issued a statement on Tuesday saying that Obama “applauds Sony’s decision to authorize screenings of the film,” according to Reuters.

“As the president made clear, we are a country that believes in free speech, and the right of artistic expression,” Eric Schultz, the White House’s deputy press secretary, said in the statement. “The decision made by Sony and participating theaters allows people to make their own choices about the film, and we welcome that outcome.”

Lynton has maintained the company’s desire to release the film to the public, leading some in the movie industry to suggest that the company might eventually consider releasing the film through a video on demand service.

“While we hope this is only the first step of the film’s release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech,” Lynton added in his statement.

On Tuesday afternoon, The Alamo Drafthouse had already posted a link to buy tickets to Thursday screenings of the film on the theater chain’s website. CEO Tim League issued a statement saying that Sony representatives just this morning approved screenings of the film at his chain as well as “other arthouse and independent theaters across the country.”

“This is the best Christmas gift anyone could give us,” League said in a statement. “We, both distributors and exhibitors, have collectively stood firm to our principles and for the right to freedom of expression. Two days ’til Christmas, and I am proud to be an American.”

Meanwhile, Michael Furlinger, a co-owner of the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta, told CNBC that he plans to have increased security in place for the screening, but said he is “not overly concerned” with the hackers’ threats. - Fortune

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Stranded seal found 20 miles from the ocean

Residents of rural merseyside were perplexed when the young seaborne mammal turned up in a field.

The misplaced seal was discovered by a local dog walker in the countryside near Newton-le-Willows in north-west England which is more than twenty miles from the coast.

It isn't clear exactly how it got there but local wildlife officials have suggested that it may have traveled up a nearby brook.

Police officers and animal rescuers urged members of the public not to approach the animal in case it turned aggressive.

"Police and fire officers, with the help of a local farmer, have herded the seal on to an RSPCA trailer," Merseyside police said in a statement. "Its condition is described as being exhausted and has now been taken to the RSPCA’s wildlife hospital in Stapeley Grange, Nantwich, for assessment."

The nearest grey seal colony is near Hilbre Island in the Dee estuary more than fifty miles away.

"We think he’s come from the Mersey area, which is tidal, and he’s come up the bank here and he’s got lost," said Rachael Fraser of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Service. "It's very unusual." Read more at The Guardian

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Retired Law Enforcement Working with Psychics To Find Missing Persons, Solve Murders

When I first heard about the work of Find Me, I wasn't sure what to think. On a social visit, drink in hand, I stared across the living room at my impeccable source, Joni Evans, among the most respected and successful professionals in publishing, now retired as Publisher and President of Simon & Schuster and Random House. (Evans serves on the Find Me board of directors.)

She said, simply, "Current or retired law enforcement personnel are using 158 psychics worldwide to help them solve missing persons cases and homicides." Later I was shown a confidential video in which the investigators and psychics discuss the work they've been doing together. Here was a team of experienced professional investigators teaming up with psychics, forensic experts, handwriting analysts, and others to solve the unsolvable. It was the stuff of fiction, except that it's happening now.

Don't miss today's conversation. We'll cover how the not-for-profit Find Me chooses cases and how many cases they've solved, and we'll talk with a psychic working on the team. Is psychic ability real, or are their results tied to any group tasked with thinking outside the box?

The Find Me organization says it intends to expand its efforts into the area of human trafficking once it has fully developed its computer programming, which will make use of artificial intelligence, among other things, to solve cases. Find audio feed at WNPR

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